8th BRICS Summit held in Goa

The 2016 BRICS summit is the eighth annual BRICS summit, an international relations conference attended by the heads of country or heads of government of the five member countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

• The summit held from 15 to 16 October 2016 at the Taj Exotica hotel in Benaulim, Goa, India. India will hold the chair of the BRICS from February 2016 to December 2016.
• In July 2015, during the 7th BRICS summit, it was announced that India will host the 8th BRICS summit in 2016. In March 2016,Goa was announced as the venue of the summit.
• The first BRICS film festival was held at New Delhi from 2 September to 6 September 2016. The five-day film festival screened four films each from the participating nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
• The environment ministers of BRICS nations held a meeting on 16th September 2016 in Goa, they agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and announced the setting up of a joint working group institutionalizing their mutual cooperation on environment related issues.
• The agriculture ministers of BRICS nations held a meeting on 23rd September 2016 in New Delhi.
• The first trade fair of the BRICS countries, was held at Pragati Maidan exhibition ground, New Delhi from 12 to 14 October. The first BRICS U-17 Football Cup was held at Goa from 5th to 15th October, 2016.

PM Modi to inaugurate war memorial in Bhopal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bhopal , where he inaugurated the newly built war memorial- Shaurya Samarakand address a meeting of ex-servicemen at Lal Pared ground.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the  Army would never “forgive” the country if it was found “sleeping” when it should be awake, in comments that come against the backdrop of the recent surgical strikes.
• He asserted that the Army did not believe in speaking but in displaying its valour.The ShauryaSamarak is an imaginative and colourful presentation of valour of Indian forces and a tribute to the martyrs.
• Samarak covers 13 acres of ground and cost Rs.41 crore. It symbolises the various stages of life, war, death and victory. The bravery and glory of soldiers is celebrated in the Shaurya gallery display and India’s gratitude is represented by the Shaurya Stambh.

BRICS nations adopted “the Goa declaration” :

The BRICS Summit 2016 adopted the Goa Declaration which unanimously hit out at the growing threat of terrorism, among other issues. India was the host nation of the 8th Summit and the 9th will be organised by China

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed that they had adopted the Goa Declaration that laid down a comprehensive vision for our cooperation. Combating terrorism, including cross border terrorism, and its supportersw ould  be a BRICS priority. Prime Minister
• Narendra Modi added  that the “most serious” direct threat to regional security was terrorism, whose “mothership” was a country in India’s neighbourhood
• We agreed that those who nurture, shelter, support and sponsor forces of violence and terror are as much a threat to us as terrorists themselves. We were unanimous in recognising the threat that terrorism, extremism and radicalisation presents
• We welcome the early entry into force of the Paris Climate agreement, India was proud to sign it on 2nd October this year. India and Russia signed a total of 17 agreements/MoUs during the meeting.
• The Summit is being held in Benaulim, Goa. The tourist state has been converted into a fortress with the entire state being put on high alert given the presence of world leaders.
• On the New Development Bank, which completed a year, Modi said BRICS nations agreed that it should continue to focus on infrastructure, technology and renewable energy sectors.
• He further added   that “in order to further bridge the gap in the global financial architecture, we agreed to fast track the setting up of a BRICS Rating Agency.

BRICS-BIMSTEC Summit :

The first ever BRICS-BIMSTEC outreach summit held in Goa under the chairmanship of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• Renewing the BIMSTEC bond, PM Narendra Modi and BIMSTEC leaders earlier gathered for a special retreat before the BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit.
• BIMSTEC comprises of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand and holds immense potential.